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Shad Valley MUN

Introduction to Product Design and Development

Lecture 3: Concept Generation

Dr. Leonard M. Lye, PEng, FCSCEProfessor of Engineering

Program Director, MUN Shad

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The Activity of Concept Generation

• After identifying a set of customer needs and establishing target product specifications, the development team is faced with the following questions:– What existing solution concepts, if any, could

be successfully adapted for this application?– What new concepts might satisfy the

established needs and specifications?– What methods can be used to facilitate the

concept generation process?

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Activity of Concept Generation• A product concept is an approximate description

of the technology, working principles, and form of the product.

• It is a concise description of how the product will satisfy the customer needs. A concept is usually expressed as a sketch or a rough 3-D model and is often accompanied by a brief textual description.

• The degree to which a product satisfies customers and can be successfully commercialized depends on the quality of the underlying concept.

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Activity of Concept Generation

• A good concept is sometimes poorly implemented, but a poor concept can rarely be manipulated to achieve commercial success.

• Fortunately, concept generation is relatively inexpensive compared to the rest of the product development process – hence there is no excuse for a lack of diligence and care in executing a sound concept generation method.

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Activity of Concept Generation• The concept generation process begins with a

set of customer needs and target specifications and results in a set of product concepts from which the team will make a final selection.

• An effective team will generate hundreds of concepts, of which 5 to 20 will merit consideration during the concept selection activity. The team should thoroughly explore all possible concepts.

• This will reduce the likelihood of stumbling upon a superior concept late in the development process or a competitor will introduce a product with dramatically better performance than the product under development.

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Common dysfunctions during Concept Generation

• Only one or two alternatives considered, often proposed by the most assertive members of the team

• Failure to consider the usefulness of concepts employed by other firms in related or unrelated products

• Involvement of only one or two people in the process, resulting in lack of confidence and commitment by the rest of the team

• Ineffective integration of promising partial solutions

• Failure to consider entire categories of solutions

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5-Step Method in Concept Generation

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Step 1: Clarify the Problem• Develop a general understanding of the problem

and then down the problem into sub-problems if necessary.

• For example, the design of a complex product like a photocopier can be thought of a collection of more focused design problems:– Document handler– Paper feeder– Printing device– Image capture device

• Not always possible e.g. paper clip.

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Methods of problem decomposition

• Decompose by function – use of block diagrams approach. e.g. photocopier.

• Decompose by sequence of user actions: good approach when there are lots of user interaction but with very simple technical functions.

• Decompose by key customer needs: This approach is often useful for products in which form, and not working principles or technology, is the primary problem.

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Goal of decomposition

• Goal is to divide a complex problem into simpler problems such that these problems can be tackled in a focused way.

• Once decomposition is complete, the team chooses the sub-problems that are most critical to the success of the product and that most likely to benefit from novel or creative solutions.

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Step 2: Search Externally• External search is aimed at finding existing

solutions to both the overall problem and the sub-problems identified in step 1.

• External search for solutions is essentially an information-gathering process. Best to use an expand-and focus strategy: first expand the scope of the search by broadly gathering information that might be related to the problem and then focus the scope of the search by exploring the promising directions in more detail.

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External search• 5 good ways to gather information from external sources:

– Lead user interviews: users in the know, users who have used many different similar products

– Expert consultation: ask experts in the sub-problem area e.g. technicians, suppliers, profs

– Patent searches: looking at old patents - internet– Literature searchers: trade mags, consumer reports, internet,

brochures, Thomas Register of American Manufacturers, etc.– Competitive benchmarking: compare with similar existing products.

Benchmarking can reveal existing concepts that have been implemented to solve a particular problem, as well as information on the strengths and weaknesses of the competition.

• Skill in conducting external searches is a valuable personal and organizational asset. This ‘detective work’ is completed most effectively by those who are persistent and resourceful in pursuing leads and opportunities.

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Step 3: Search Internally

• Internal search is the use of personal and team knowledge and creativity to generate solution concepts.

• This activity may be the most open-minded and creative of any in new-product development. It is a process of retrieving a potentially useful piece of information from one’s memory and then adapting that information to the problem at hand.

• Can be carried out individually or group of people working together.

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Guidelines: Brainstorming • Suspend judgment: no criticism of concepts no matter

how silly at first glance is allowed. Better approach is to channel any judgmental tendencies into suggestions for improvements or alternative concepts.

• Generate lots of ideas: The more the better. Each idea may act as a stimulus for other ideas.

• Welcome ideas that may seem infeasible: Some of these ideas can be improved, “debugged” or “repaired” by other members of the team. The more infeasible the idea, the more it stretches the boundaries of the solution space and encourages the team to think of the limits of possibility.

• Use graphical and physical media: Provide lots of sketching surfaces and materials for visualizing 3-D form and spatial relationship. E.g. cardboard, foam, clay, blackboard, paper, etc.

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Hints for Generating Concepts• Individual and group sessions can be useful. Work as

individuals first, then in a group setting for building consensus, communicating information, and refining concepts. Some helpful hints:– Make analogies: compare with similar devices. Is there a natural or

biological analogy to the problem?– Wish and wonder: I wish we could …or I wonder what would happen if

….– Use related stimuli: Pass your list of ideas to another team member,

review customer needs, etc.– Use unrelated stimuli: e.g. random collection of photos.– Set quantitative goals: e.g. need to generate a minimum of 10 ideas.– Use the gallery method: Sketches, one concept to a sheet, are pinned to

the walls. Team members circulate and look at each concept. The group subsequently makes suggestions for improving the concept or spontaneously generates related concepts.

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Step 4: Explore Systematically• Systematic exploration is aimed at

navigating the space of possibilities by organizing and synthesizing the ideas generated.

• Two useful techniques are:– Concept Classification Tree: divide possible

solutions into several distinct classes to facilitate comparison and pruning.

– Concept Combination Table: provides a way to consider combinations of solution fragments systematically.

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Power Nailer Concepts

Classification Tree Combination Table

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Step 5: Reflect on the Results and the Process

• Is the team developing confidence that the solution space has been fully explored?

• Are there alternative ways to decompose the problem?

• Have external sources been thoroughly used?

• Have ideas from everyone been accepted and integrated in the process?

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Summary• Product concept: an approximate

description of the technology, working principles, and form of the product.

• Concept generation starts with a set of customer needs and target specifications.

• 5 steps in concept generation: clarify problem, search externally, search internally, explore systematically, and reflect on the solutions and process.

• Iteration is common – nonlinear process.

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Exercises• Generate 10 concepts for the sub-problem

“preventing fraying of end of rope” as part of a system for cutting lengths of nylon rope from a spool.

• Could you apply the 5-step concept generation method to an everyday problem like choosing the food for a picnic for a group of people you would like to impress?